Elder Ke was suffering in silence. Over on the battlefield, casualties kept mounting. Several early-stage Emperor Realm experts, pressed hard by Long Xiaoxuan, were in a desperate situation — each of them felt they could collapse and die at any moment.
Jiang Chen, though not going all out, was clearly far stronger than an ordinary early-stage Emperor Realm cultivator. Using the Sky Kun Light Escape technique, he harassed them with absolute speed. Even though he was holding back, if his opponents weren't careful, they could fall victim at any time.
Jiang Chen's tactical thinking was straightforward — coordinate with Long Xiaoxuan. He had no desire to steal the spotlight himself.
One Emperor Realm warrior wielding a long spear roared and suddenly whirled with a reverse thrust aimed at Jiang Chen, snarling viciously: "Die!"
This fellow had been harassed by Jiang Chen relentlessly and was furious. He knew that if they could eliminate this pest and focus their efforts on that cold, ruthless youth, they might not win, but they'd still have a decent chance of self-preservation.
But with this troublemaker lurking behind them and occasionally loosing a few cold arrows, they were like ants on a hot pan — forced to split their attention.
As a result, they were floundering and in dire straits.
The most agonizing part was that both Jiang Chen and Long Xiaoxuan moved at terrifying speeds — so fast that these early-stage Emperor Realm fighters felt like they were going to lose their minds.
They were cursing inwardly: where had these monsters come from? How could they be so young yet so ruthlessly powerful?
Just in terms of speed alone, they were completely suppressed.
When Jiang Chen saw the spear thrust coming — sudden as it was — his martial arts insight allowed him to see the essence of the technique in an instant. He accelerated rather than retreating, sidestepping the sharp thrust with a lean of his body. His hand shot out, grabbing the spear shaft with a firm grip.
His opponent scoffed, not thinking much of it, and tried to yank the spear back. But it didn't budge — not even a fraction.
The man's face drained of color. He had never imagined that this young man who had been using speed to ambush them all this time could possess such profound cultivation.
Jiang Chen had been waging guerrilla warfare against them this whole time, relying purely on speed and cold shots. It had led all of them to assume that while this young man was fast, his actual cultivation was inferior to that cold, aloof youth.
But in that one grip, the man realized just how wrong he had been. This wasn't a weakling. This wasn't someone who survived on speed alone.
This was someone playing the pig to eat the tiger!
By the time he realized Jiang Chen had been hiding his true strength and holding back, it was already too late.
Because in the very next instant, Long Xiaoxuan's hand — transformed into a sharp claw — pierced straight through his chest.
"You sure know how to put on an act." Long Xiaoxuan made a face at Jiang Chen and tossed out a quip.
Jiang Chen chuckled and pretended not to understand, continuing to use his speed to ambush the next target.
Now the remaining early-stage Emperor Realm opponents understood — this guy had been playing them the whole way. If anything, it made them even more wary.
Long Xiaoxuan alone had already placed unbearable pressure on them. And now there was an even more cunning, more insidious, more terrifying one who had been hiding his strength the entire time.
This was a death sentence, plain and simple.
In that moment, every last one of them wished they could smash their heads into a wall. Inwardly, they were cursing Elder Ke's ancestors for eighteen generations.
If that old fool Ke hadn't stirred up trouble, how would this inexplicable battle have started? How would so many people have died?
Most critically, looking at the way things were going, if the tide didn't turn soon, they wouldn't last much longer.
One Emperor Realm expert was already dead, leaving a gaping hole in their defenses. At this rate, they'd be wiped out within a quarter of an hour.
Judging by that cold youth's bloodthirsty expression, he clearly wouldn't stop until every last one of them was slaughtered.
So these Emperor Realm experts were chilled to the bone.
And yet, even now, Elder Ke still hadn't moved to help.
They had no idea that although Elder Ke hadn't intervened, his divine sense was on the verge of collapse. Not because the Peerless Great Emperor had attacked him — but because under the crushing pressure of the situation, Elder Ke was mentally breaking down on his own.
"My friend…" Elder Ke's voice was bitter. "The Fallen Heaven Society admits defeat this time. Leave a way out, and we can meet again in the future. I'll return the Ling Shi in full — would you please show mercy?"
Elder Ke didn't want to swallow his pride, but under these circumstances, he had no choice.
The Peerless Great Emperor, however, wore an expression of casual indifference: "Don't talk to me — I'm not the one making decisions here. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for not knowing who you can and can't afford to offend. I suppose that's to be expected — you've been freeloading and bullying people for so long, old habits die hard."
He didn't particularly despise someone like Elder Ke, but he certainly didn't like him either. Still, people like this were a dime a dozen across the Human Domain.
One more dead, one fewer — it made no difference.
Elder Ke broke into a cold sweat. Hearing those words, his heart sank even further. A powerhouse this formidable was speaking in the tone of a subordinate serving those two young men? Just how extraordinary was their background?